Enzyme-histochemical analysis of retinal development in the mouse

Development of neuronal specificity remains one of the major enigmas in contemporary neurobiology. The embryonic neuroepithelium1 derived from the surface ectoderm due to the inductive influence of the chordamesoderm, acquires a high]_ycomplex differentiation when neuronal and glial cells appear and establish specific structural relationships. Arising as a protrusion of the diencephalon during ontogeny 1 the retina presents the same anatomical and physiological problems as do other parts of the central nervous system. In the retina a spatial separation of both the perikarya and the cell processes into distinct nuclear and synaptic layers is effected during histogenesis. Tills makes the retina a very suitable material for studying vertebrate neurogenesis and therefore the developing retina has been a preferred target of analysis through various approaches.